The News Items Podcast

The News Items Podcast with John Ellis

John Ellis talks with interesting people doing important work. Some you've heard of. Some you haven't. All of them are worth listening to, at some length.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 4h ago

    Navigating Risk in Intelligence and Global Conflict with Richard Moore (Episode 32)

    Richard Moore, former head of MI6 from 2020-2025, joins The News Items Podcast to share his experience leading the agency during the pandemic and the evolving nature of intelligence gathering and analysis. One of the most significant moments during his tenure was MI6’s decision to publicly share intelligence about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Moore explained the strategic importance of this move, emphasizing the need for transparency in a modern intelligence agency, and discussed the evolving dynamics of the Ukraine conflict. Moore also addresses Putin's strategies, the role of China in supporting Russia and Iran, and the implications for global security. Moore also gave insight into the challenges of AI governance, particularly in the context of US-China relations. Hosted by John Ellis News Items on Substack Produced by Katerina Barton Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  2. 1d ago

    What The Voters Thought with Katherine Miller (Episode 31)

    Katherine Miller covered the 2026 mid-term elections for The New York Times from the ground up. She talked to voters and she listened in on "focus groups" of voters from states all across the country. In this final episode of our "midterms" podcasts, I talked to her about what she heard, what she learned and how voters are thinking about the future. Katherine is unusually perceptive about people and politics. You'll see why. Hosted by John Ellis News Items on Substack Produced by Katerina Barton Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  3. 6d ago

    A Walk Through the Network Voter Poll with Daron Shaw Shaw (Episode 30)

    Professor Daron Shaw is a professor in the Government Department at the University of Texas at Austin. He teaches American Government, Campaigns & Elections, Public Opinion & Voting Behavior, and Political Parties. Daron currently serves as one half of the bipartisan polling team for Fox News, and is a member of the Fox News Decision Desk Team. He is also co-director of the University of Texas Poll. A week or so ago we emailed him and asked him if he would be willing to walk us through Election Night and discuss the results of the Election Day Voter Poll. He said “yes.” The result is this podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  4. Oct 31

    Understanding the Red Undertow Election with Charlie Cook (Episode 29)

    Charlie Cook, founder of the Cook Political Report, joins The News Items Podcast to discuss the upcoming midterm elections and the phenomenon he describes as the "red undertow,” why Democrats shouldn’t be too quick to celebrate on election night, and key races to watch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  5. Oct 31

    The Dual Threats of AI: Insights from Josh Tyrangiel (Episode 28)

    Last May, John talked with Josh Tyrangiel about his book, 'AI for Good'. A lot has happened since then. The pace of AI's development has accelerated dramatically. The Hugging Face Hack and the PHP vulnerability revelations became major stories and reiterated for all of us just how treacherous AI can and will be.  So we called him up and asked him to do another podcast about those two stories and the AI "story" more generally. Like all the good podcasts, it's really good when the guest is great. Josh is great.  Profile: Josh Tyrangiel is a writer for The Atlantic. He was previously the editor of Bloomberg Businessweek and chief content officer for Bloomberg Media. A twelve-time Emmy and Peabody Award–winning producer, he created Vice News Tonight on HBO and has produced numerous feature-length documentaries for HBO, Netflix, and Apple TV. These days, when he's not writing for The Atlantic, he oversees the production of "Instadocs" on Netflix. The one on the Hugging Face Hack is terrific. Hosted by John Ellis News Items on Substack Produced by Katerina Barton Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  6. Oct 25

    Decoding the Midterms with Jim Messina (Episode 27)

    Jim Messina, former White House Deputy Chief of Staff to President Obama and the manager of his re-election campaign in 2012, joins The News Items Podcast to discuss the midterm elections. From the the "macro" political environment to the rural vote in the critical Senate races, to the map that leans Republican to a referendum to outlaw "dark money" in Montana, it's a "wide-ranging"  conversation, well worth your time. News-Items.com Hosted by John Ellis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  7. Oct 23

    Midterm Analysis and Shifting Dynamics, with John Heilemann (Episode 26)

    John Heilemann joins the News Items podcast to discuss the upcoming midterm elections. The conversation focuses on the challenges facing Republican candidates across the country. Heilemann notes that Republicans are actively "trimming" their electoral Congressional map, pulling resources from districts they once considered competitive. Meanwhile, Democrats are expanding their map of House, Senate and gubernatorial races. The big question is whether the GOP can hold the Senate in a very tough political environment. The conversation then moves on to discuss what the political environment might look like after the mid-terms. News-Items.com Hosted by John Ellis Produced by Katerina Barton Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  8. Oct 2

    The Global Order, With Benn Steil (Episode 25)

    Benn Steil, director of international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations, joins John Ellis to examine why the postwar global economic order is under growing strain, and how China sits at the center of that story. Steil traces the evolution from Bretton Woods and GATT to the WTO, arguing that China’s integration into the global trading system created enormous benefits while also exposing deep tensions between different economic models. The conversation covers the first “China shock,” tariffs, cheap Chinese steel, and the difficulty of economically disentangling the United States and China. Steil also explains why the dollar remains dominant, how stablecoins could actually reinforce that dominance, and why Chinese subsidies in EVs and artificial intelligence present a new competitive challenge. Finally, Ellis and Steil discuss what it really means to “win” the AI race—and whether U.S. trade and economic policy has a coherent strategy for getting there. News-Items.com Hosted by John Ellis Produced by Dale Eisinger Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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5
out of 5
11 Ratings

About

John Ellis talks with interesting people doing important work. Some you've heard of. Some you haven't. All of them are worth listening to, at some length.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    The News Items Podcast with John Ellis
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    32
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The News Items Podcast
  • Show Website
    The News Items Podcast

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